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Jack Kingston hits back at GOP Senate frontrunner David Perdue, promises more to come

ATLANTA | The “air war” in the Senate Republican primary is about to escalate as Jack Kingston threw a barb at opponent David Perdue Friday, promising more to come.

Perdue’s campaign, meanwhile, welcomed the comparison of resumes.

Kingston, while meeting with reporters at the corporate headquarters of Atlanta Gas Light Co. to celebrate his endorsement from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said he will no longer allow himself to be attacked without fighting back.

“I have a record of being pro-growth and pro-jobs,” he said, crediting that with the endorsement. “Now, there are other people in this race who talk about being pro-business, but I would have to ask where have they been?”

Kingston’s career voting record in Congress is more than 90 percent in agreement with positions the chamber favors. He acknowledged that he disagrees with the chamber on immigration reform, for instance, but generally favors cutting taxes and regulations as a way to encourage businesses to create more jobs.

He focused his sights on Perdue, a political newcomer running on his strengths as a chief executive of companies like Reebok and Dollar General. Kingston, though, zeroed in on Perdue’s seven-month tenure at the head of Pillowtex, a North Carolina textile firm with shaky finances that wound up closing with 4,000 workers losing their jobs in 2003. That was at a time when any textile company that hadn’t failed or moved overseas was struggling.

“We have one candidate who has a long history of laying off people, hundreds — indeed, thousands of jobs — and taking golden parachutes on the way out the door,” Kingston said. “Well, that doesn’t create jobs and wealth in Georgia.”

The congressman said he has been on the receiving end of attacks from Perdue, fellow congressman Paul Broun and former Secretary of State Karen Handel. All three have zinged him in debates, but Perdue has aired a series of ads featuring crying babies dressed as Kingston, Broun, Handel and Rep. Phil Gingrey who is also running for the Senate seat.

Kingston’s backers say privately they’re most angered by ads produced by the Citizens for A Working America, a super political action committee that they speculate is tied to Perdue.

“We will probably need to be talking about other people’s records,” Kingston said. “If Mr. Perdue wants to talk records, a good place to start would be Pillowtex.”

Perdue spokesman Derrick Dickey said Pillowtex was essentially beyond saving when Perdue took the helm. Efforts to secure additional money to keep it afloat or a buyer were unsuccessful and the layoffs were inevitable.

“It’s just like a career politician to criticize a successful businessman for trying to save a company that had already been in bankruptcy,” Dickey said. “Meanwhile, Congressman Kingston has been in Washington for 20 years spending taxpayer money and bankrupting our country.”

He said the Perdue campaign is not coordinating with the super PAC and is therefore not to blame for any discomfort Kingston is experiencing as a result of its ads.

“That sounds like the kind of ridiculous accusations politicians make when they can’t defend their record and want to change the subject,” said Dickey.

Perdue just released his latest version of the crying-babies ad Thursday. In it, he alludes to his business skills.

“If you like the results coming out of Washington right now then pick one of these four professional politicians,” he said as the babies fill the screen. “But if you’re as outraged as I am by the size and scope of our government, and by the inexcusable, childish behavior exhibited in Washington right now, then I hope you’ll give this outsider from Georgia a chance. Fixing big problems like this is what I’ve done all my life.”

Kingston said he had tried to keep the campaign to a “vigorous family discussion” in accordance with Ronald Reagan’s so-called Eleventh Commandment that Republicans speak no ill of another Republican.

Walter Jones: (404) 589-8424

Jack Kingston hits back at GOP Senate frontrunner David Perdue, promises more to come- By